Team Keghart Editorial, 22 December 2009
Team Keghart Editorial, 22 December 2009
No language is “pure”. Our own language has multiple links to other Indo-European languages.
These ruminations were triggered by a recent letter from an Armenian intellectual to a Diaspora Armenian writer. The short letter had at least 13 foreign words—words which are a sad legacy of the Soviet era in Armenia. Such words as “insdidude”, “pizness”, “dourisd”, “chounklayin”, “olikakhner”, “monopolisdnere”, “penzeene”, “gongressagan”, “paleschchig” and “tekhnigagan” littered the letter. What made the usage even more deplorable was that we do have perfectly good Armenian words for the above abominations.
One could argue that the Republic of Armenia has more urgent matters on its plate than to mop up these non-Armenian words from our language. That kind of lazy and complacent attitude would assure the disappearance of the Armenian word and its permanent replacement by the foreign. Like our mountainous homeland, our language is one of our most distinctive possessions. Our religion is an import. Our alphabet is largely the reworking of the alphabets of neighbouring countries, adapted by Mashdots for the unique needs of our language.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, many Diaspora Armenians (perhaps those in Armenia, too) hoped that Soviet terminology would vanish together with the unwieldy, unrealistic political ideology. After years of hearing, in utter bafflement, on “Yerevann eh Khosoum”, such unArmenian and incompressible words as “Gomgous” “golkhoz” and “bardya”, we were hoping to hear Armenian from our motherland. We are still waiting.
14 comments
Shameful
I am 50 years old, born in Ethiopia, studied in Italy as a Mekhitarian student, visited Armenia in 2001 and live in Melbourne, Australia. I say this to qualify what I am about to write related to this subject.
Armenians in the Diaspora, living in Westernised society have visibly taken the path of Jermag Chart. Those in Africa and Asia seem to have more of a strength to preserve their identity – mainly because they consider themselves superior to the locals.
In Armenia, I noticed a movement towards looking like Americans or Europeans. The youth seem to be more interested in Western culture than preserving their own. I don’t blame them. I blame the parents who give their children foreign names and instill in them the notion that Western is COOL. If this sentiment is cultured in Armenia, why should we be surprised at the language they use?
Vrej
Sad Scene to witness
I live in Southern California, and specifically in the Glendale area where Armenians are plenty. One would expect that due to the large community, the Armenians preserve, promote and are proud of their heritage, language and culture. To a large extent, this is a misconception.
Recently, while shopping at a store, I came across a mother with two children, one about a 4 years old boy and the other about a 2 years old girl. The boy was complaining to the mother that his sister was misbehaving, all in English, and the mother, who spoke broken English, was responding to the child, also in English. It was a sad scene to witness. It made me wonder; was the mother trying to learn English from her 4 year old, or trying to be cool? I couldn’t help but to tell the mother how disappointing it was to see an Armenian mother speak to her young children in an "odar’s" language.
Our ancestors fought wars for years, and were killed by those who attempted to cleanse our race off this earth, not to mention their painstaking exiles through deserts, only to lead us to move to other’s countries and take on other identityIf we don’t commit to speaking Armenian to our children and teach them about who we are and what we stand for, who will? In this melting pot called the Western World, it is really easy to become part of the large society and only maintain a name ending with an "ian" or "yan". It is every parent’s responsibility to pass on, everything Armenian, to their child, or else, we will disappear as an ancient race, and our name will only be in history books.
So how can one learn Armenian?
Now, after many years, I try to improve my Armenian language, but to no avail. There is NO book or program – in-class or on-line – specially prepared for adults. Registering at one such course was excruciatingly painful as I had to read about "Maralig and Arayig" or the fact that the teacher felt it was more important to know the word Arkayakhentsor than any other Armenian expression.
As I did some more research into the matter – within my expertise as an educator and curriculum developer (but for English) – it turns out that we don’t even have proper books for our children to learn Armenian. The children in my family are enjoying French or English and even Arabic, but not the Armenian classes.
Don’t blame those who don’t speak Armenian well. There is a deeply rooted problem in the education system itself that needs work, not patchwork style as has been done for the past 50-60 years.
You can take online Armenian
http://www.avc-agbu.org/home.php
Good Luck
Easier said than done
Allow me to digress when all ills are attributed to an "unwieldy, unrealistic political ideology". It was during the Soviet era after all that Armenian culture lived a new renaissance. Witness the many writers such as Shiraz, Kaputikyan, Charentz and Sevag… not to mention the exceptional ground-breaking works in music, painting and the performed arts. Where are those giants? In which period were they nurtured? Where are the various centres of science and their lost global stature such as Byurakan, the Alikhanyan Brothers, Mergelian Institute?
Bureaucrats are the same in any regime, whether Soviet, capitalist or aligned with the Armenian oligarchs. The enemy is within.
Quick solution!
Simply change the badarak to modern Armenian. Hopefully Western Armenian!
Պատարագը կարելի է պահել
Գալով աշխարհաբարի գործածութեան, այդ արդէն տեղի կ՛ունենայ քարոզին եւ Աստոածաշունչի ընթերցման մէջ:
Asiga togh ulla mer nor darvah kordzu
Touk inchkan gu kordzdzek ankleren yerp vor hayereni masin gu khosik. Zarmanali eh. Ays tser kradzneru g’ouzem okordzadzel kal amouwa hamar (Aveli jisht pedrvarin) yerp menk – yes yev im kaghoutis hayer@ (manavant anonk voronk gu batganin Hamazkayin Grtagan yev
Mshagoutagan kragan hantsnakhoumpin) bidi pats khoselou ASOULIS gam HARTSOUBADASKHANi jhoghov@ badrasdenk. Ays joghov@ bidi ullah pats yev voronk vor ouzen grnan kal, te Hay Parekordzagan Entanour Miyoutenen, te al Hay Hegh. Tashn-en.
Hima, touk vor kankadetsak yev housahadouetsak, inch g’@sek? Anklerenov kretsi ays amen@ te voch hayerenov?
http://www.hamazkayinchicago.com
Hacho Dakarean
Hayeren Khosink
Please..all of you…. Our language will die in the diaspora in the next 100 years. It seems that nobody takes into consideration the pressure of social forces . The language will survive only in Armenia even if it is bastardised with many foreign words.
History has shown that we Armenians thrive under political pressure, thus we stick to our language. Even before the genocide, most Armenians in the historical Armenia communicated in Turkish. How many of you had grand parents who did not speak Armenian but Turkish.? Because it was easier to live in their evironemet.
It is very unfortunate that slogans like " heyeren khosink, hayeren gartank" will not hit its target. Whereever we are in the Western world our children will communicate in English, French, Dutch or German. The Armenian language will be practised among the elders and with elders..and once they are gone..guess what…..they will speak the local language among themselves.
My hope is that even if they do not speak Armenian in 100 years in the Diaspora , at least they will have a modicum of "Armenianness" left in them.UNLESS…there is another war in the middle east and another wave of immigrants come to the western world just like it happened 30 years ago, thus replenishing the Western Armenian society…
I whole heartedly agree to these slogans but as they say in Armenian " airatz srdi k… meghitarank"
100 years ago (hareur dari arach)
Hayeren gu khoseyin.
Yete medz hayrt yev medz mayrt Trkerenov gu khoseyin, tereves Giligetsi eyin.
It is simply not true to say most Armenians spokeTurkish. Most spoke ARMENIAN. My mother learned Turkish in Iraq from Turkomans. Her grandparents in Van spoke Kurdish and Armenian fluently, but not Turkish.
They even had a printing press in Van. It is our homeland and our central city. Van and Gyumri (all Vanetsies) are the purest Armenian speakers according to linguist expert Bert Vaux.
Shnorhagalouteun. Housahad mi ullar. Loudzeh. Mi housahadvir.
Hayakhos yev Hayaser
Հայերէն գրենք
OK, why do we write armenian with latin characters? we have to stop this bad habit. Windows has provided a great free tool that enables us to write in Armenian characters easily anywhere.
Please see the following related article:
Հայերէն գրենք հայկական տառեր օգտագործելով
or
http://www.keghart.com/Armenian_In_Unicode
Maral@ amenen lav fonten eh
Hayeren gar mesrob mashdotsen arach.
Hagop Dilachar Martaian@ latinagan darer@ pokhets yev shdgets Terkeren lezvin hamar.
grnam kordzadzel latinagan aypoupen@ yev gam mesrobian@.
Hayeren@ hayeren eh.
Adelouteun@ hanetsek tser sirderen.
Haygagan lezoun aveli garevor eh 100 ar hareur kan te MESROBIAN kirer@.
Երազատես
So, what can then we do? As individuals, we can all start by supporting the Armenian book. Buy Tintin in Armenian to your children along with its English, French or Spanish version. Support independent publishers who against all odds are trying to publish in Armenian. Example, order Zahrad’s poems or Zaven Biberyan’s masterpiece novel (Մրջիւններու Վերջալոյսը) from Aras yayincilik in Bolis.
But we all know that this will not be enough. Much more must be done. Armenian courses in each community, an independent publishing house to publish Armenian classics, supporting translations into Armenian, literary classes, scholarships to deserving individuals and not necessarily to those with connections. Where would the money come from you say? The answer is simple. We need to prioritise.
I can give you one example that comes to my mind. Imagine if we can stop building new churches, especially in communities where there are a few empty ones. Ask yourself, do I need a new church in Laval, while within 5-10 minutes drive I can cross to Montreal, where there are 3-4 empty ones standing by? With the money saved, who knows, we may even have enough to feed some of the estimated 30% Armenian children going to school hungry each morning.
Let me finish by quoting K. Zohrab, from an article Համալսարանական Կրթութեան Պակասութիւնը Մեր Մէջ that he published in 1892.
«Գլխաւոր բանը որ կը պակսի մեզի, մեր յետամնացութեան աստիճանին վրայ ճշմարիտ գիտակցութիւնն է։
I guess what was true then, a hundred and so years later is still true today.
Վարուժան Պալթազար
Hayerení Masin
Harkeli Engerner,
Uremen nrank ovker vor irents hayeren lezoun, gouzen shetkel,
genaghendrem irents vor gartan ev pararan kordzadzen, portsek astvadza-shunche gartak, portsek ardasanutyuner gartak yete megge ir inzinken ays kayle charne, ayd aden westahapar ir zawakneroun hayerene aveli yev aveli irme vadeh bidi ella.
Payz naghkan ays kayle arnes bidi toun voroshes iper hay te toun inch gouzes?
Gouzes arvelyan hayeren ghosis gam gouzes Arevmedyan hayeren ghosis, arachin ays worushume bidi arnes vor yegrort seghale norits chenes yev turkerene gharnes hayereni hed gam araperene, arevlyan hayereneh gharnes ku endrats hayereni hed, vor ayd aden toun hebard ellas ku hayeren lezouyoved, yev jhist djampan sorwetsnes ku zawaknerid.
Minchev aytsegh gehuysam haskenali ella.
Harkanok,
Garabedian
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